Refurbished Carnival Miracle Launches Summer Season

Carnival Cruise Line’s Miracle has commenced its summer 2025 sailing season in Europe after completing a scheduled dry dock in Cádiz, Spain.

The ship returned to service on May 11, embarking its first guests from Lisbon, Portugal.

Notable additions include the Heroes Tribute Bar & Lounge, now featured on 15 Carnival ships, which honours active-duty military personnel and veterans. A new Carnival Adventures store has been added, giving guests an updated space to plan and book shore excursions.

The ship also now features a dedicated Chef’s Table venue on Deck 1, offering a private space for Carnival’s signature multi-course dining experience. A new Dreams Studio was introduced, providing a refreshed setting for professional photo sessions. Several public areas were refreshed with updated designs, including the Cloud 9 Spa, Serenity adult-only retreat, Club O2, Java Blue Café, and the Lido Marketplace.

Additional upgrades include a redesigned mini-golf course and nightclub, both featuring new layouts and an expanded casino area. Youth and teen areas, such as Camp Ocean and Club O2, were also revamped with brighter interiors and new amenities.

Guests sailing on the seven-night itinerary from Lisbon aboard the Carnival Miracle will visit La Coruña and Bilbao, Spain, and Le Verdon (Bordeaux) and Le Havre (Paris), France, before arriving in Dover, England.

From Dover, the ship will operate a series of nine- and 12-day cruises to the British Isles, Scandinavia and Northern Europe. Later this summer, Carnival Miracle will reposition to Civitavecchia (Rome), offering Mediterranean sailings with ports in Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Greece and Turkey.

In November, the Miracle will return to the U.S. and begin homeporting from Tampa, Florida, offering six- to eight-day cruises to the Bahamas and Caribbean.

A Look at Carnival’s New Year-Round Cruises Out of Norfolk

The Carnival Sunshine is launching a year-round deployment out of Norfolk in February, following a drydock in Europe.

Cruise Industry News takes a closer look at the new cruise schedule, which includes itineraries to the Caribbean, the Bahamas and Bermuda.

Debut Voyage
Ship: Carnival Sunshine
Date: Feb. 11, 2025
Length: 5 nights
Homeport: Norfolk (United States)
Itinerary: Freeport and Bimini (Bahamas)

The Carnival Sunshine is set to debut the new deployment in Norfolk on Feb. 11, 2025, after completing a drydock in France.

For its first sailing from the port, the ship offers a five-night cruise to the Bahamas. In addition to two days at sea, the itinerary includes visits to Freeport and Bimini before returning to Virginia.

Eastern Caribbean
Ship: Carnival Sunshine
Date: Six sailings between May and July 2025
Length: 8 nights
Homeport: Norfolk (United States)
Itinerary: Grand Turk (Turks and Caicos); Amber Cove (Dominican Republic); and San Juan (Puerto Rico)

The new schedule for the Carnival Sunshine includes various sailings to the Caribbean, including this eight-night itinerary to Turks and Caicos, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

With six departures scheduled for 2025, the cruise will sail to the Eastern Caribbean and visit Grand Turk, Amber Cove, and San Juan.

Bahamas
Ship: Carnival Sunshine
Date: 9 departures between March and December 2025
Length: 6 nights
Homeport: Norfolk (United States)
Itinerary: Bimini, Nassau and Freeport (Bahamas)

The new deployment also features sailings to the Bahamas, visiting six destinations in the island country.

One of the itineraries is a six-night cruise with nine departures scheduled for 2025, featuring visits to Bimini, Nassau and Freeport.

Bermuda
Ship: Carnival Sunshine
Date: Seven sailings between July and October 2025
Length: 6 nights
Homeport: Norfolk (United States)
Itinerary: Two days in King’s Wharf (Bermuda)

For the summer, the Carnival Sunshine adds cruises to Bermuda to its schedule. Seven sailings to the island nation are scheduled for 2025, departing between July and October.

In addition to three days cruising in the North Atlantic, the itineraries feature an overnight visit to King’s Wharf.

Celebration Key
Ship: Carnival Sunshine
Date: Three sailings between September and December 2025
Length: 6 nights
Homeport: Norfolk (United States)
Itinerary: Bimini, Nassau and Celebration Key (Bahamas)

Starting in September, Carnival will offer cruises to its new private destination on Grand Bahama Island, Celebration Key, departing from Norfolk.

As part of one of its itineraries to the new port, the Carnival Sunshine sails for six nights and also visits Nassau and Bimini. Three departures are scheduled for 2025.

Carnival Adjusts Cruise Itineraries in 2025 and 2026 for Six Ships

Carnival Cruise Line is adjusting itineraries for cruises set to take place onboard six ships in 2025 and 2026.

According to a statement sent to booked guests, 15 sailings onboard the Carnival Celebration, the Carnival Sunshine, the Carnival Vista, the Carnival Magic, the Carnival Sunrise and the Carnival Spirit saw minor changes.

Four sailings onboard the Carnival Celebration were adjusted, including the cruises scheduled to depart on March 23 and Nov. 16, 2025, which will now operate with a revised order of port visits.

The departures scheduled for Nov. 28, 2025, and Feb. 22, 2026, will see a visit to San Juan replaced with a stop in Amber Cove.

Onboard the Carnival Sunshine, the cruises set to depart on Nov. 9 and Nov. 15, 2025, will see Half Moon Cay replacing a previously scheduled visit to Bimini.

The vessel’s Dec. 13, 2025, cruise also saw an itinerary change, with a visit to Bimini replaced with Princess Cays.

A similar change was made to the Carnival Vista’s Nov. 15, 2025, departure, with Grand Turk replacing a previously scheduled visit to Half Moon Cay.

The Nov. 21, 2025, and Feb. 21, 2026, cruises onboard the Carnival Magic were also adjusted, with a visit to St. Croix replacing a previously scheduled call to St. Thomas.

The itinerary of the ship’s Nov. 29, 2025, departure was revised and is now scheduled to sail to Princess Cays instead of Half Moon Cay.

Three cruises onboard the Carnival Sunrise, which are scheduled to depart on Dec. 4 and Dec. 13, 2025, as well as Feb. 26, 2026, will visit Princess Cays instead of Half Moon Cay.

The Feb. 22, 2026, cruise onboard the Carnival Spirit was also adjusted and is now scheduled to sail to Nassau instead of Bimini.

According to Carnival, shore excursions purchased through the company will be automatically adjusted based on these changes.

For cancelled ports, the excursions will be automatically refunded to the original form of payment, the company added.